Paul Skenes Leads Pirates in Win Over Blue Jays
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PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes made his first start for the Pittsburgh Pirates in more than a month and showed exactly why he's the man for Opening Day
Skenes threw four scoreless innings for the Pirates in their 8-3 win over the Toronto Blue Jays at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla. He allowed just one hit and issued three walks, while striking out the World Series runners-up five times.
The Pirates ace had spent most of the past three weeks away with Team USA, making three starts for them and two in the World Baseball Classic. His last start for the Pirates came back on Feb. 25 against the Atlanta Braves on Feb. 25, throwing just 2.1 innings.
Skenes worked out some issues early on, as he gave up a double to Blue Jays first baseman Vladimir Guerrero and walked right fielder Addison Barger with two outs in the top of the first inning, but then got catcher Alejandro Kirk to fly out to end that scoring opportunity
He then walked consecutive Blue Jays batters with one out in the top of the third inning, but struck out both Guerrero and Barger to keep the road team scoreless.
Skenes struck out the side in the second inning and got two ground outs and a pop out to end the fourth inning and his outing after 65 pitches.
He relied mostly on his four-seam fastball, which didn't have the velocity it usually does, only topping out at 97.2 mph. He also utilized his curveball much more than normal, more so than any pitch besides the fastball
Pitch | Total | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 25/65 (38%) | 95.6 mph |
Curveball | 14/65 (22%) | 81.5 mph |
Splitter | 12/65 (18%) | 95.1 mph |
Sinker | 9/65 (14%) | 96.0 mph |
Changeup | 3/65 (5%) | 88.1 mph |
Sweeper | 2/65 (3%) | 85.1 mph |
Skenes will make his next start on Opening Day vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26, where he'll look to start another campaign that ends in a Cy Young Award.
What Else Happened in the Pirates Win
The Pirates scored their first run off a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third inning, with left fielder Bryan Reynolds driving in center fielder Oneil Cruz.
First baseman Spencer Horwitz doubled the Pirates' lead with his first home run in Spring Training, hitting a four-seam fastball over the middle of the plate and sending it over the right field wall, making it a 2-0 game in the bottom of the fourth inning
Shortstop Alika Williams drove in another Pirates run via sacrifice fly in the same inning, scoring catcher Henry Davis to make it 3-0.
Williams hit an RBI-single in the bottom of the sixth inning and then Cruz hit a two-run home run right after, extending the Pirates' lead to five runs at 6-1.
The Pirates then added two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning off a wild pitch and an RBI-single from P.J. Hilson.
Pittsburgh had five relief pitchers throw following Skenes the rest of the game, who gave up three runs over the final five innings.
Right-handed relief pitcher Dennis Santana gave up an earned run in the fifth inning and right-handed pitcher José Urquidy allowed two earned runs over the final two innings of the game. Urquidy is now up to a 9.28 ERA over 10.2 innings pitched this spring.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.